As any Amazon seller knows, reviews can make or break sales. Online shoppers feel significantly more comfortable making purchases when they know the product has been approved of by other customers.
Many sellers have resorted to illegal measures to boost their business, but Amazon has retaliated. According to Techcrunch, Amazon has suspended seller accounts and even gone as far as suing sellers for:
* Using fake accounts to leave reviews on the products they sell.
* Paying people to leave positive reviews on their products.
To avoid this penalty, Amazon sellers used to be able to encourage customers to leave reviews in exchange for discounted products, as long as they mentioned this fact in the review itself. This practice is no longer legal, as of October 3rd, 2016, according to Amazon’s blog.
Sellers that wish to boost their reviews, and therefore their sales, can take steps to and learn how to get Amazon reviews legally. The important distinction to make is that sellers can still ask for reviews, they just cannot ask for positive reviews or offer incentives for reviewers.
Online companies recently developed legal algorithms which differ from outdated, illegal methods in these critical ways, according to Review Formula:
* They offer buyers a chance to leave feedback through a separate service, including a 5-star rating system.
* Positive reviews (4 or 5 stars) take buyers to a page asking them if they would like to leave a review on Amazon.
* Negative reviews (1-3 stars) bring the buyer to a form where the buyer can explain the negative review. The buyer is not asked to leave a review, but the seller gains valuable information about issues that may arise.
Amazon’s own Community Guidelines outline the new rules on how to get Amazon reviews legally, specifying what can and cannot be done to encourage reviews. Amazon sellers wishing to stimulate customers to leave more frequent positive feedback can make use of these algorithms while avoiding legal issues or infringing on Amazon’s policies.
